Two months before November’s midterm elections, Democrats have seen a marked improvement in voter turnout — in large part due to renewed support among independents, an increase in favorability for President Joe Biden and increased voter enthusiasm among supporters of abortion rights – according to a recent Wall Street Journal poll. For months, Republicans have been trying to hammer Biden on everything from inflation and immigration to last year’s hasty withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and lingering frustration over past restrictions on COVID-19. And the president’s approval ratings for most over the past year have been mired in the 30s and 40s, a difficult position for any commander-in-chief in his second year in the White House. But the latest survey showed Democrats ahead of Republicans 47%-44% among registered voters when asked who they would back in the congressional district, a marked change from March, when Republicans had a 46%-41% advantage. . The shift to Democrats came from stronger numbers with independents, as well as increased levels of support among black and Hispanic voters. In the new poll, Democrats held a 38%-35% advantage among independents, a marked shift from March, when the key bloc of voters supported Republicans by 12 percentage points. Many attributed the change in Democratic fortunes to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that legalized abortion in the United States and granted a constitutional right to the procedure. GOP pollster Tony Fabrizio — who led the survey along with Democrat John Anzalone — said the court ruling helped Democrats rally support. “Republicans were cruising and Democrats were having a hard time,” Fabrizio told The Journal. “It’s almost like the abortion issue came up and it was kind of like a defibrillator for the Democrats.” In the poll, 60% of respondents thought abortion should be legal in all or most cases, an increase of five percentage points since March. Democrats this fall are seeking to retain their majorities in Congress. while their chances of retaining the Senate have improved dramatically, most observers have acknowledged that the House will be more difficult to hold. However, Biden’s job approval rating reached 45% in the latest survey, with 54% disapproving of his performance. (In March, the president’s job approval was 42%, with 57% disapproving.) A boost in support for Biden — if it holds through to the election — would almost certainly help Democratic candidates, as most have long worried about the president’s approval ratings dragging on the party’s fortunes. The poll, conducted by Impact Research and Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, polled 1,313 registered voters from Aug. 17 to Aug. 25 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.
